Princess Mary Tudor
'Princess Mary Tudor '''is the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon. Sarah Bolger portrays her as a recurring character in Seasons 2, 3 and 4 of ''The Tudors. She maintains the royal title of Princess Mary until being demoted to simply Lady Mary, although she is later restored to the Royal Line. Role in the Series Mary appears in a few episodes of Season 1 as a young girl. She is introduced as the young daughter on whom Henry and Catherine shower affection. She is initially supposed to be married to the Dauphin of France, but when personal tensions develop between her father and King Francis at a summit, she is instead betrothed to Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, her mother's nephew. The marriage is deliberately put off by both parties because Mary is far too young, but Charles ultimately breaks the pact as well as his alliance with England, despite his affection for Mary and Catherine. As a child Mary has a sweet, innocent personality that shows her later generosity; everyone who meets her (including Anne Boleyn, briefly) treats her with kindness. However, Mary is increasingly separated from her mother thanks to the machinations of Catherine's enemy Cardinal Wolsey; her position as heir is threatened by Henry's bastard son Henry Fitzroy, but the little boy soon dies during a sweating sickness outbreak. Despite the initially happy marriage between Mary's parents and the love they both have for her, Henry longs for a son. Catherine's failure to produce one causes Henry to destroy the marriage, and upon his marriage to Anne Boleyn in Season 2, Mary- now in her teens- is seen as a bastard, making way for Elizabeth Tudor to become the future heir. She loses virtually all her status and is separated from her mother at Anne's urging, becoming a lady-in-waiting to her infant half-sister in 2.04. Mary endures this new position with surprising dignity (though her health suffers a few times) but she remains bitter, and Queen Anne's one attempt to make peace with her is insultingly rebuffed, causing Anne to grow paranoid of her. Catherine dies in episode 2.07 after four years of sepparation from her daughter, much to Mary's grief; she receives a box containing some of Catherine's personal items, including jewely from the royal house of Spain, Catherine's home country. Mary's hatred of Anne Boleyn is shared by the Imperial Court and the Papacy (though not by the French) but neither are able to help her directly. In particular, the Savoyard Imperial Ambassador Chapuys is extremely sympathetic to both her and her mother, and attempts to carry messages for them on many occasions. Regardless of his feelings and dealings towards the King (towards whom he has a rather low opinion in private) Chapuys remains a devoted friend and confidant to Mary in Seasons 2, 3 and 4. After being sent away from court, Mary is reunited with her father thanks to the influence of his new wife Jane Seymour, though she is first ordered to sign a treaty acknowledging Henry as Head of the Church, something she has long avoided due to her strong Catholic beliefs. Mary initially refuses to do this, but Chapuys, despite sharing her Catholic convictions, informs her the Emperor cannot help her due to his seeking a new alliance with England. Under the influence of Thomas Cromwell and other ruthless reformists, her father might be convinced to put her to death, so out of fear and despair she signs the document, asking Chapuys to help her secretly acquire Papal absolution. During this time, Mary falls deeply in love with Duke Philip of Bavaria (whom she is introduced to by Queen Anne of Cleves), and is left devastated when he is sent away by her father. In Seasons 3 and 4, with her return to court, Mary is shown to be beloved by the people, especially the Catholic sects that are persecuted by her father and Cromwell. Unlike her two younger half-siblings, Mary got to know her mother for a substantial ammount of time; Elizabeth's was executed when she was nearly three and Edward's died days after his birth. Being raised by her loving, wise, and very Catholic mother, Catherine of Aragon, had a distinct effect on Mary's personality. Mary is a shrewd, attractive and usually kind young woman who shows deference to almost no-one except her parents, but her views are distorted by her devout Catholic faith, which makes her consider Protestantism complete heresy with no compromise. This, combined with a ruthless streak that she definitely got from her father, makes her a formidable character, although her short reign as queen had mixed results at the very best. In the fourth and final season of the series, Mary's father remarries twice. Despite hating her father's fifth wife, Katherine Howard, Mary becomes rather close to his sixth and final wife Catherine Parr, although she confides to Chapuys that she knows Catherine is a Protestant (and therefore, in her eyes, a heretic). During this season, although Mary appears less frequently, she begins to show some of the ruthless fundamentalism towards her faith that would later characterize her reign, saying that if she ever became queen, she would spill as much blood as necessary to heal the country and restore its true faith. In Season 4, Episode 8, she is sad to see Ambassador Chapuys (who is by now greatly weakened by gout in his old age) retire and return to Spain, though they part as good friends; in the next episode she is informed that he has died. Although it is not shown on the series, Mary becomes Queen on July 19, 1553. She eventually was to marry Philip of Spain in 1554 although they had no children, and ruled for five years, becoming the fourth Tudor monarch. Mary was remembered for restoring Roman Catholicism in a brutal manner, although most of her religious policies were later reversed by her half sister and successor, Elizabeth Tudor. Despite being seen by the majority of England as Henry's most rightful heir after her brother Edward, her reign was the shortest of Henry's three children and had the least lasting effect. Her marriage to her ambitious Spanish husband saw England grow more subservient to Spain, a status that was eventually countered by Elizabeth. Mary's stepmothers and siblings Mary's reactions to her various stepmothers are mixed; she never lost her loyalty and love for her mother, Catherine of Aragon, and since Anne Boleyn was the one who usurped them from court this is primarily why she hates her, despite Anne's initial attempts to make peace with her. Otherwise, she would probably have liked Anne's unique style, boldness and intelligence- if Anne had not also been a Protestant. As it was, Mary continued to refer to her as the king's mistress or as a harlot, refusing an offer to restore her to the court if she acknowledged Anne as Queen. Anne did not push the issue, but she wisely kept Mary at an arm's length from her mother and made sure Henry kept her off the line of succession- as well as making her a lady-in-waiting to Mary's newborn sister. Meanwhile, Anne's cruel remarks about Catherine only made Mary more hateful towards her. Mary reacted to Anne's execution with as much satisfaction as Anne had at her mother's death. Her relationship with Jane Seymour was quite different; Seymour was anxious that Mary be treated well and restored to the royal line, and as she was Henry's favorite queen, Mary's influence with her father improved- despite the fact that Jane's unborn son would pass Mary to the throne. Jane also shared Mary's strong Catholic faith, unlike the Protestant Boleyn. Mary had very friendly relationship with her second stepmother, but unfortunately Jane died not long after giving birth to her half-brother Edward; Mary wept at her funeral procession. When Henry later married, then rejected, Anne of Cleves, despite Anne's Lutheran background Mary also found mutual respect and friendship with her, as both were dignified, intelligent dowagers. However, her attitude towards the King's fifith Queen, Catherine Howard (who was several years Mary's junior) was entirely different. Mary was extremely contemptuous of Katherine's stupidity, vanity and vast sexual appetite, and despised her nearly as much as she had Anne Boleyn. She also resented Katherine because she saw her as the usurper of Anne of Cleves, as Anne Boleyn had been to her mother. When Mary degraded Katherine on her failure to produce children, Katherine retorted that Mary would never manage to marry ''or ''have children, which reduced Mary to tears until Chapuys came and comforted her. The day that Katherine was executed, Mary once again showed a savage satisfaction. Catherine Parr, the final queen of Henry VIII, also formed a good relationship with Mary, as she was nearer to Henry's age and was more intelligent, kindhearted and dignified. Despite her hatred for Anne Boleyn, Mary does not show any initial hatred for Boleyn's daughter and her half-sister, Elizabeth, whom she is forced to care for as an infant; she gives her nothing but affection. She was pleased when Elizabeth was removed from the line of succession, but continued to act as a benevolent big sister to her, helping to reintroduce her to the court and to their father. As adults, however, Mary becomes paranoid of her sister as a potential usurper, just as Boleyn was of her. Once she had secured the crown, she placed her sister in the Tower of London and threatened her with beheading (though she later reduced this sentence to house arrest) but when her marriage produced no children, Mary reluctantly restored Elizabeth as her heir apparent on her deathbed. By contrast, she always saw her much younger half-brother, Edward, as the legitimate heir despite her own claim to the throne. She treated him with affection, though not as much as Elizabeth did. Mary became suspicious of Catherine Parr's role in Edward and Elizabeth's education, correctly assuming that her younger siblings were being influenced in favor of Protestantism and were, in her eyes, heading for damnation. Quotes *"I know of no queen of England but my mother. And I will accept no queen but my mother." *"If the King's mistress would intercede with him on my behalf, then I would be grateful." *"Is the harlot dead?" *"I'm not my mother's daughter?" *"I am afraid I was not born for happiness." *"Lady, you ''must ''know how beloved you are to the people- as was your mother before you, God rest her soul." -Robert Aske to Mary. Gallery Category:Characters